“I won’t hold it against you, son. You’re healing. It was a traumatic injury.”
We shake hands, and I walk down the hallway, letting the disappointment sink in that this might not get better. My lips could always droop, my speech might always be impacted when I’m tired and can’t move my lips properly.
I try to remember the fact that he was right about one thing. At least I get to keep doing what I love. After taking so long to give up on the dream of a future I had with my ex, Melissa, I’m finally happy and doing something that I look forward to everyday. At leastthathasn’t been taken from me.
“Well look what the cat dragged in,” Adam says as I climb out of my cruiser.
“I’ve been gone for an hour.” I try to walk past him, ignore him. I’m not in the fucking mood for his bullshit right now.
“I wish I’d gotten shot so I could just take off in the middle of a shift. I’d stop and get some lunch though. You seemed to rush right back. Maybe—”
Turning, I cut him off. “You wish you had this?” I point to the wound on my face that was just reopened a mere two and a halfweeks ago. “You wish you had to have skin and fat taken from your thigh to fill the hole on your cheek? You wish you struggled to smile, talk, or hell, even call out people’s idiotic comments?”
He holds his hands up in defense. “Geez, didn’t mean to hit a nerve.” I don’t laugh. “Get it? Because he did. Hit your nerves? You can’t feel them?”
“Get the fuck out of my face. Now,” I growl out.
His eyes widen at my tone, but he listens and goes away.
“Who the hell pissed in your Cheerios, brother?” Hunter claps my shoulder, coming up from behind me.
“Great.” I look up at the sky. “Did the Universe know that I just needed my brothers right now?”
“Aww, told you he loves us, Coop,” Liam says, joining us.
Turning, I can see that all my damn brothers are here, except Gunnar. He and his wife, Willow are in LA for her record label.
“What can I do for you three this fine day?”
“How was your appointment?” Liam asks.
I sigh, I know they mean well. But I just want them to forget about me and any appointments in the near future for just a minute.
Fuck, I want to forget it all myself.
“Fine.”
“Just fine?” Hunter asks as he follows me into the station.
“Doc says great. I don’t agree.” I shrug. “My face still isn’t working the way it should, and it pisses me off. Not much else to say about it.”
“Wy. I’m so sor—”
“Cooper, I swear to God, if you apologize one more fucking time. It’s not your fault. It’s my job. It happens. I know the risks I take every day.”
Cooper has apologized no less than a thousand times since Aubrey’s ex shot a hole in my cheek when he broke into their house after trying to kidnap her.
He looks down at the floor. He fucking hates when I tell him to stop apologizing. The guilt eats at him, and I don’t know how to get him to leave me alone and stop.
“Anyways, I know you three didn’t come here to ask about my appointment. Usually you just let Mom do that, or you text me.” I stare at the three of them in the lobby of the station.
“Technically, we didn’t come here for you,” Hunter answers. “We needed to pull a permit for the inn. And Cooper was bored, so he tagged along. You just happened to show up when we were leaving.”
“We’re going to Rebels tonight. You in? The girls are having a girls’ night at the inn, so we’ve been banned from hanging with them. They’re inviting Sophia over to integrate her into the group, so apparently that doesn’t include us. They’re goingslow.As if any of them are slow to accept someone new.” Hunter shakes his head.
Those girls will take anyone into their fold. Except Tiff.Thank God.
“What time?” I ask, looking at my watch and trying to calculate how much time I have left at work versus how much time I need after work. I need to mow the yard and want to go through the path to Sophia’s to tamper down the overgrowth.
